Class Antics – Inside Elementary Education

Part of the fun of blogging is that you get to meet other bloggers—and their students.  Mr. Reifman’s class in Santa Monica asked me if the boy on the cover of Best Multiplication Songs EVER! is supposed to look like an “x” for multiplication.  I was impressed with their question and told them more than they ever wanted to know about symbolism in my books and marketing messages.  (I went to business school to learn how to be a civilian—I grew up as an Air Force brat with no idea how the other half lived.)

So here it is…Fun with Symbolism.

Dear Mr. Reifman’s class,

You are very clever! There are indeed hidden symbols and layers of meaning on the cover for Best Multiplication Songs EVER!

The jumping boy on the cover is indeed intended to make you think of the “X” for multiplication. The jumping-for-joy-look indicates that the album has a lot of energy. Also notice that the red letters and a boy flying against the blue sky evoke Superman images, suggesting that you can become a multiplication superhero if you listen to the album.

Managing Stan (aka Zapped!) has hidden symbols, too. You’ll notice that fire or the color red appear when the kids are up to no good and are being untrue to themselves. That’s when things tend to get zapped, too. I used trees (and leaves) to symbolize honesty and being true to yourself. For example, Kyle wears a gilded leaf necklace that belonged to his mother. Brian, his best friend, is the one who keys in on its importance. The scenes at the Secret Tree show the kids becoming friends, not just classmates. Even the plaque on the bench under the tree has a tree theme: In Memory of Eldon Bower. “Bower” is a tree-related word meaning a leafy shelter.

In my newest book, Brainstorm, I wrote some cool metaphors. See, Brian is very clever, and his ideas come to him out of the blue, like brainstorms. (Some brainstorms are good; others lead to  funny problems.) Whenever Brian has a brainstorm, I create a metaphor and compare it to a real storm. For example, “Snowflakes swirled in Brian’s mind as a wintry brainstorm grew into a blizzard.” In some cases, the type of storm has something to do with the idea, like when Brian’s brainstorm starts raining cats and dogs as he thinks of an idea related to Barkley, weirdest dog ever.

Until my last year of high school, I could find symbols in stories, but honestly thought that the authors didn’t really intend them. I thought my teachers just made me search for them as some sort of scavenger hunt activity combined with an assignment to write a two page essay about the importance of the color red on page 184. Education is about helping each generation build on the learning of others; I can save you some time and say that yes, authors absolutely really do put symbols in their books.

Try putting symbols in your own stories! Just think of the symbol you want to use and what it will mean, and slip it in here and there. Not too much, or it will get tacky. For example, Brainstorm is 180 pages long, and I only used 9 brainstorms.

Sincerely,
Corey Green

Rick Riordan won the Author of the Year Award for The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1)

The Children’s Choice Book Awards lets young readers voice their opinions by voting for the books they like.  Of course, the hope behind this program is that kids will make their own reading lists and develop a love of reading.  Kids cast more than 500,000 votes online this year.

My students love Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series.  The students who can read at that level are very proud of their accomplishments, and their success motivates others. 

My class formed a Percy Jackson fan club that celebrated all things about Greek mythology.  They were especially democratic by not demanding that club members had to have read the Percy Jackson books to join the club.  The result was a lot of fun and sharing on their own time—things that make a teacher’s heart soar.

Thank you, Rick Riordan, for your contributions to KidLit!

It’s really magic when a low reader masters reading aloud.  In the first days of school, after all the assessments are done, I work with low readers by reading aloud to the student, and then I have the student read the same material back to me.  We repeat the pulling along process after every school break.  Yes, young readers can lose fluency that fast! 

Some tips to pull reading fluency along at any time of the year:

1.  Use fun material!  If a child is struggling, dull and dry won’t inspire.  I like to use picture books, nursery rhymes, poems or lyrics because the low reader can use the rhythm of the words to pull herself to a higher level.

2.  Have the student underline the sentences with her finger as she reads.  This is a physical way to pull the student’s eyes ahead, especially if she falters on a word or phrase.

3.   Read aloud with the student, pulling her along.  Then go back and work on problem words or phrases.  Does the student understand what she just read?  If not, discuss the context and content of the material.

4.  Do it again.  Advance to materials with a higher reading level only when the student feels confident about her mastery of the lower level material.

One of the ways we celebrate reading achievement in my classroom is by listening to our low readers when they triumphantly can read aloud to the class.  As my low readers advance, I urge them to take home books from my class library and read them aloud to younger siblings.

Lucky me…I get their younger sibs in my class a few years later!

I am posting a few days before the event, so my teacher-readers have an opportunity to create lesson plans.

What do Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Otis Spofford, Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse have in common?  They’re celebrating Beverly Cleary’s 95th birthday on April 12th.    

 April 12th also is National Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day.  D.E.A.R. is a reading celebration that encourages families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority.

 Beverly Cleary’s beloved character, Ramona Quimby, is the program’s official spokesperson. Ramona is responsible for spreading the word and the love of reading.  All this came about because Beverly Cleary received many letters from readers who participated in D.E.A.R. at their schools, so she gave the same experience to Ramona in Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (link to amazon, book and movie). 

 The goal of National D.E.A.R. Day is to show families how to make time to drop everything and read.  It’s easy to set up and host your own celebration.   The D.E.A.R. website features information and tools to promote your celebration. There’s also a list of Favorite Read-Aloud Titles for Families of D.E.A.R. Readers

 Students get really excited about D.E.A.R. in the classroom: have them read any and all books by Beverly Cleary.  My parents read her books when they were in elementary school, and now Beverly Cleary’s books are published in twenty countries in fourteen languages.  Beverly Cleary’s autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet
, fueled my dreams of writing children’s books. 

Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!  Now, I’m off to read!

My students are always playing games.  Some are more fun than others…

So You Think You Rock?  is a game I invented to complement the Accelerated Reader program.  Actually, my sister invented it one day when she was volunteering in my class.  Here I was, trying to have AR conferences with the kids, which took forever—mostly because they were so slow in coming to talk to me.  Also, the constant coming and going was disruptive.

Then my sister printed up the class progress report and just started calling their scores out.  We jazzed it up by stating whether or not the student rocks.

Example: say it is the second week of the grading period.  You estimate that the student should be at 20% of their goal.  You have a class goal of scoring an average of 85% correct.  Announce it just like this:

John: rocks.  He scored 30% of his goal (students cheer) and has an 89% correct average.  Keep up the good work, John!  (John beams)

Paul: sort of rocks.  Paul, we are very proud of you for earning 45% of your goal.  You must be reading a lot at home!  (students cheer)  However, your average percent correct is 80%.  Could you work on that, please?  We know you can do it!  (students cheer)

George:  Rocks hard!  He has made his Goooooooal!  (Students raise their arms in a triumphant soccer cheer.)  Seriously, George rocked so hard!  Not only did he meet his goal in the first two weeks of the quarter, he has a 98% correct average!  (students cheer)  Have an ARHead, George!  (Airheads candy that I renamed.  Buy about 80 for less than $10 at Sam’s Club.)

Ringo: doesn’t rock.  He has 0% of his goal.  (Students groan)  What have you been doing, Ringo?  You are a Recess Reader until you fix this!  I recommend a Magic Tree House book.  (Grudgingly, Ringo looks for a Magic Tree House book in the class library.)  Ringo, put it in your backpack right now!  You are reading it this weekend!

In about three minutes, you have motivated students, nudged slowpokes to read, and reminded everyone of the existence of the AR program.

My students BEG to play So You Think You Rock!

Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary
AR Reading level 4.5  1 point
Available at Amazon.com

Cursive may seem outdated compared to typing, texting and tweeting, but it is still an important skill for kids to learn.  If nothing else, they need to be able to read cursive—notes written by parents and teachers, or cursive written by our forefathers in the Declaration of Independence.

Kids are very excited to learn cursive, but sometimes their interest lags after the first few lessons.  You can keep them going by reading to them Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary.

In Muggie Maggie, third-grader Maggie absolutely refuses to learn cursive.  She’s a smart girl, but she gets herself into quite a predicament—with a lot of embarrassment, time spent out of class, and even trips to the principal’s office!

See, Maggie’s teacher has hatched a plan with other teachers and school staff.  She makes Maggie the messenger.  All the messages Maggie deliverers are written in cursive.  Maggie is pretty sure she recognizes her name in the messages.  Maggie has no choice but to learn cursive so she can read the secret messages.

Muggie Maggie is clearly intended for a third-grade audience, but AR (accelerated reader) classifies the reading level is 4.5.  (Many Beverly Cleary books have a reading level above the intended audience’s grade level, as I have described in a different post about this topic.)  Some third-graders will be able to read Muggie Maggie, but I recommend that third-grade teachers read it aloud because it is perfectly suited to their audience.

I’m sorry to tell you a harsh truth: kids don’t read Beverly Cleary books.  Not like they used to, that’s for sure.

The Ramona & Beezus movie was wonderful, but the box office take was disappointing.  (I think it will have a long life as a DVD and Blu-Ray.)  All my students who saw the movie absolutely loved it, but none of them had read the books beforehand.

Kids don’t read Beverly Cleary!  Why?

You and I loved her books as children, but they’re a little old now.  Some elements are dated, particularly the books about Henry Huggins and the early Ramona books.

The main reason kids don’t read Beverly Cleary has to do with AR (Accelerated Reader).  Beverly Cleary’s books are written at a high reading level, according to AR.  (The formula is based on length of sentences, length of words, etc.  I’m not sure about the details because I think it’s top secret.)

For example, Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is clearly written for a third-grade audience.  The book’s reading level is 5.6.   Most kids are not allowed to read above their AR reading level, so they can’t read the Beverly Cleary books when they are at the age the books are aimed for.  By the time kids reach the fifth and sixth grade reading levels, they want to move on to harder and more macho books, like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

I think it’s too bad.  Beverly Cleary books are wonderful.  I can’t imagine life without them, actually.

On the other hand, I have to say that in my experience, when kids read above their reading level, comprehension suffers and students rarely actually finish the book.  They just lug it around to look impressive.

Obviously, as a future writer and teacher, I was an advanced reader as a kid.  However, many of my classmates also read Beverly Cleary books.  I have to wonder if more of today’s students would read the books should AR downgrade the reading level.

As a teacher or parent, I hope you will read Beverly Cleary books aloud and recommend them to students who are ready for them.  If you teach fifth and sixth graders, try to push them into Beverly Cleary books.  You know they’ll like them!  You can also recommend the books Beverly Cleary wrote for teens.  My favorite is The Luckiest Girl, but I also loved Fifteen and Sister of the Bride.

A sampling of Beverly Cleary AR reading levels:  (This isn’t all her books.  There are soooo many!)

Ramona Quimby, Age 8: 5.6
Ramona Forever: 4.8
Beezus and Ramona: 4.8
Ramona and Her Father: 5.2
Ramona and Her Mother: 4.8
Ramona’s World: 4.8
Ellen Tebbits: 4.9
Henry Huggins: 4.7
Henry and the Clubhouse: 5.1
Mitch and Amy: 6.2
Emily’s Runaway Imagination: 6.1
A Girl from Yamhill (Beverly Cleary’s Autobiography): 6.5
Fifteen: 5.4
The Luckiest Girl: 5.9

by Ann Cameron
AR book level 3.4  1 point
Available from Amazon.com

I first learned about The Stories Julian Tells because we have an excerpt in our Harcourt reading textbook.  Now, I am a big believer in Julian!  You will be so glad to know that there are many books about Julian.

In The Stories Julian Tells, author Ann Cameron creates a memorable family.  You will love Julian, a nine-year-old with a big imagination and a gift for telling stories.  His little brother Huey is cute as can be.  Julian’s dad is larger-than-life: a strict father who is even funnier and more imaginative than Julian.  Julian’s mom is a wonderful, warm character.

The Stories Julian Tells is an incredibly funny, warm and comforting book.  It makes a wonderful read aloud for the classroom.  However, I think a huge added educational value comes from the author’s rich description and imaginative use of figurative language.

For example, in the first chapter, Julian, Huey and their father make a lemon pudding for Mom: a lemon pudding that tastes like “a night on the sea” and “a whole raft of lemons.”  When dad wakes up from his nap to find that Julian and Huey ate the whole pudding, the boys are in for a whipping and a beating—Julian whips the pudding, and Huey beats the egg whites.  Mom tastes the new pudding—it’s just like a night on the sea and a whole raft of lemons!

My favorite story in the book is called “Because of Figs.”  When Julian was three, his dad gave him a fig tree that would grow up with him.  When the tree grew taller but Julian didn’t, Julian felt left behind.  Naturally, the solution was to eat the fig leaves to help him grow.  (They taste like spinach, so they must be good for you.)  Years later, Julian is bigger but the tree hasn’t grown at all.  Finally, Julian realizes that the leaves belong to the tree.  Now both tree and boy can grow up together.

My students absolutely love The Stories Julian Tells.  They are nuts about the companion books, like Julian, Secret Agent , More Stories Julian Tells, and Julian, Dream Doctor.  There are also great books about other characters in the series, like Gloria (who might be Julian’s best friend) and Huey, Julian’s little brother.

by Barbara Cohen
AR book level 3.0   0.5 points
Available at Amazon.com

Molly’s Pilgrim is a classic that deserves a place in your classroom library.  It can be read any time, but it is particularly poignant in November.

In November, we think of pilgrims as the Puritans landing on Plymouth Rock.  However, Molly’s Pilgrim reminds us that other pilgrims came to this country for religious freedom.

Molly is a young Russian-Jewish immigrant who feels out of place in America.  Molly’s school assignment is to make a Pilgrim doll.  Molly’s clothespin Pilgrim doll resembles her mother rather than a Puritan Pilgrim, teaching her classmates an important lesson about religious freedom in America.

Molly’s Pilgrim was made into an Academy award-winning short movie.  It is available on Amazon.com.

Molly’s Pilgrim is great as a read aloud, but if you wanted make it into a unit of study, you might consider buying A Guide for Using Molly’s Pilgrim in the Classroom, from Teacher Created Materials.

The Accelerated Reader program is so much more than comprehension tests about each book.  Many books have vocabulary tests, too.  The vocabulary test has the same quiz number as the regular test.

At our school, AR is set up to offer students the vocabulary test as soon as they complete the reading practice test.  Encourage your students to do the vocabulary tests.  They improve vocabulary and reading comprehension.  If students do enough, you will see an increase in reading level.

Since Accelerated Reader levels are determined by Star Reading, which is a test of vocabulary, the AR vocabulary tests are most directly applicable to raising a student’s Star Reading test score.

You can print labels that list the AR vocabulary words for each book.  Put these in the book cover so students can be sure to notice those words in the text.

Until this summer, I labeled my AR books by looking up the book information and writing the reading level, point value and quiz number in each book.  Students and parents helped with this.  It took forever, and it was easy to make a mistake.

Turns out you can just print the labels.  (I used Avery 5260, 1″ by 2 5/8″, 750 labels in a pack.)  Here’s how to do this from your teacher AR account:

1.  Click on Reports
2.  Select School Management*
3.  Under Quiz Management Reports, click Labels–Book
4.  Select Some (so you can select the quizzes you want)
5.  Click Select Quizzes next to the Some button
6.  Choose your quizzes.  The fastest way to search is “title contains.”
7.  Be sure to add the quizzes to your list.  You can select the quantity of labels you want for each book (nice if you have a class set)
8.  Click Save
9.  Click View Report
10.  Click the Print icon on the pdf
11.  When you print, if it doesn’t line up correctly with your labels, be sure to select None for page scaling.  Mine automatically went to Shrink to Fit, and my labels would not print correctly until I overrode the page scaling.
12.  Stick the labels in your books!

*From the school management menu, you can also click to print the AR Vocabulary lists for books that have a vocabulary test.

You can spice up almost any classroom game or activity by declaring boys against girls competition.

Examples:

> Who can score the most points in the test review game?
> Who uses the neatest handwriting on their essay?
> Which team will score the most As on the math test?
> Who can keep their desk the neatest?
> Which team can pick up the most scraps from the floor?
> Which team can earn the most AR (Accelerated Reader) points?

… you get the idea.  Boys versus girls can work for any activity, academic or otherwise.  Try it!

By Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by Yuyi Morales (pronounced Ju-ji)
AR Reading Level 3.9; 0.5 points
Available from Amazon.com

Summary: When Cesar Chavez was ten years old, his family had to move from their happy home in Arizona because of drought.  So begins the story of working as a migrant worker in California under increasingly deplorable conditions.  The historic 1965 strike against grape farmers, Cesar Chavez’s efforts to unionize migrant workers, and the dramatic 340 mile march for “La Causa” to California’s capital is the centerpiece of this dramatic and beautifully told story.

Activities: Harvesting Hope  is poetically written, but simple enough for children to understand.  Still, I would read this story aloud.  Students will get much more out of it with an adult to explain the history and classmates to share the experience.  Expect a long classroom discussion.  Students will be indignant to learn that after Cesar broke a school rule against speaking Spanish, the teacher hung a sign on him that read “I AM A CLOWN. I SPEAK SPANISH.” Many stores displayed “White Trade Only” signs.

Like Chavez himself did, children will make the natural connections to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi.

This book reminds us all to respect the dignity of every man.

by Holly Keller
AR Reading Level 2.3; 0.5 points
Available at Amazon.com

Summary: A twist on fables, this book is about a mouse who ends up stuck in a hole.  None of the animals can rescue Mouse, so they recommend asking Snake.   Mouse heard through the grapevine that his old friend Snake likes to eat mice, so Mouse won’t agree.   Ultimately, Snake ties a vine to his tail and pulls Mouse out.   Everyone learns a lesson.

Activities: This is good independent or group reading for grades 1-3.  I use it as a springboard for discussing friendship, or as a prediction lesson.  It’s also good for discussing relationships between characters and making connections to your life.  With older students, I use it as an example of a non-Aesop fable.

by Dav Pilkey
AR Reading Level 3.1; 0.5 points
Available at Amazon.com

Summary: The Dumb Bunnies are Papa, Mama, and Baby.  They prepare for Easter—but it’s really a mashup of holidays.  My favorite is when the Easter Bunny comes in a minivan—pulled by eight flying Pilgrims.  Then he drops Easter eggs down the chimney with a “Ho, ho, ho!  Look out below!”  This book is very short, but jam-packed with jokes.  The illustrations complement the text’s jokes—and add plenty of their own.

Activities:  Don’t look too hard for intellectual things you can read into the book—it’s pure fun.  You can’t predict the story.  You can laugh so hard you collapse into giggles.  You can let kids read it repeatedly, practicing their fluency and looking for more jokes.  You can let analytical kids count the jokes, then calculate a joke-to-page ratio, or a joke-to-word ratio.  I suspect Dav probably listed joke ideas, then wrote the book.  I can’t think of any other way to pack the jokes so densely!